Those looking to automate their home already have plenty of choice when it comes to smart fridges, locks, lights and more, but now a new device called Slide can take over the dreary task of drawing curtains. Promoted as the world's first retrofit smart curtain system, Slide can be configured to open and close the curtains automatically and can also interface with other devices.
Motorized curtains have been around for a while now, but they tend to cost a lot and require custom rails and an involved installation by a specialist. Slide co-creator Thijs Olthof told us that the big idea behind his product is to make what's usually a luxury item a lot more affordable and easy to use.
You simply attach Slide to your curtain rail, track, or the curtain itself – Slide's creators promise it works with "virtually all" existing horizontal curtains – then use an iOS or Android device to control it. The curtains can be controlled either from within the home or from afar via Wi-Fi connection and the whole setup process should only take a couple of minutes.
Slide can be configured to open the curtains with the sunrise and close at sunset, or to close them once everyone leaves the house. A holiday mode can also keep the curtains moving to discourage a potential burglar casing an empty house.
Users can still open the curtains by hand and Slide can also open the curtains only part of the way if preferred. Up to 20 units can be controlled in the same house.
Thanks to its IFTTT (If This Then That) compatibility, using Slide with existing IFTTT devices should be simple. A few examples of what you can do include pressing a Flic button to control the curtains (the firm also offers a SlideMote add-on that does the same), talk to Amazon Echo's Alexa ("Alexa open the curtains") or Google Home, or have the system interface with a Fitbit to detect when the wearer wakes up.
Slide creator Innovation in Motion is running an Indiegogo campaign (it also recently completed a successful Kickstarter) to raise money to move Slide from prototype to product. Pledge for a single Slide unit, which will be good for controlling one pair of curtains, start at US$85. Assuming all goes to plan, delivery is promised for August, 2017.
